If you want to know what GTA 6 will feel like, don't replay GTA 5. Play Red Dead Redemption 2.
It's Rockstar's most recent major single-player release, it's where the studio's current design philosophy actually lives, and it's the closest available preview of the systems, pacing and level of ambient detail GTA 6 is presumably built on.
Why it's the better preview
GTA 5 is thirteen years old and represents Rockstar's thinking from a previous console generation. Red Dead Redemption 2 is where the studio moved toward slower, denser, more systemic design — NPCs with routines and memory, an environment that responds to your appearance and reputation, and a level of ambient simulation that was well beyond anything in GTA 5.
Whatever GTA 6 is, it's built on this lineage rather than the previous one. Playing it now means the moment-to-moment texture of GTA 6 will feel familiar rather than surprising.
The honest warning: it's slow
Deliberately, and this is the thing that divides people. Animations have weight and commitment. You cannot skip the process of skinning an animal, or riding somewhere, or looting a body. Fast travel is limited by design. Rockstar chose friction over convenience throughout, and if you want a game that respects your time, this is not it.
The reward for accepting that is the most convincing world any game has built, and a story that lands harder than any other Rockstar has told. But the first five hours are a genuine filter, and plenty of people bounce off before it opens up.
Do you have time?
| Approach | Rough hours | Start by |
|---|---|---|
| Main story, moving briskly | 45–55 | Late September |
| Story plus meaningful side content | 70–90 | Mid-August |
| Thorough playthrough with the epilogue | 100+ | Now, or wait until next year |
| Completionist | 150+ | Don't start before November |
The epilogue matters here in a way it doesn't in most games — it's substantial, it's a meaningful chunk of hours after the story appears to end, and skipping it genuinely damages the experience. Budget for it rather than being ambushed by it.
The practical answer: if you're starting in August you can comfortably do the story plus decent side content. If you're starting in October, don't. Play something shorter and come back to this next year, when you can give it the time it demands.
Buy it now
One of the most heavily discounted great games in existence. Physical copies on the previous generation run on current consoles and cost almost nothing.
Which version?
PC is the technical best, has the widest range of performance options, and has a large modding scene. Console versions are perfectly good and the used market on previous-generation discs is close to giveaway pricing — those run on current hardware via backwards compatibility and are the cheapest route by a wide margin.
Red Dead Online is a separate consideration and a much thinner one. Rockstar substantially wound down its content updates some time ago, and it's not a reason to buy. Buy this for the campaign.
What it tells you about GTA 6
Two things worth watching for as you play. First, how much ambient behaviour exists that no mission ever asks you to notice — that's the studio's signature and the thing they spend years on. Second, how the pacing works: long stretches of quiet punctuated by extremely dense set pieces.
If you find that rhythm frustrating rather than absorbing, that's genuinely useful information about how you're likely to feel about GTA 6, and worth knowing before you spend $80.
What holds up
- Rockstar's most accomplished game and the best preview of GTA 6's design
- Extraordinarily cheap now, especially on previous-generation discs
- The most convincing open world any studio has built
- A story that genuinely earns its length
What doesn't
- Deliberately slow, with heavy animation commitment and limited fast travel
- The first five hours are a real filter
- 70–90 hours for a proper playthrough — start in August or not at all
- Red Dead Online is largely dormant and not a reason to buy
The verdict
BUY — and start it this month, or don't start it. This is the best game Rockstar has made and the most accurate preview of what GTA 6 will feel like. At current pricing it's one of the best-value purchases in gaming.
But respect the clock. Story plus side content is 70 to 90 hours, and there's a substantial epilogue after the credits appear to be coming. Starting in October means abandoning it in November, which would be a genuine waste of a great game.